


Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

by ProsperDemeter



Series: 20 Days of Holiday Fics [13]
Category: Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, M/M, They spent Christmas Eve dinner together, but I can't concentrate to make it any better, guys I'm terrible at this, idk - Freeform, it could have and should have been longer, tags and fics, this isn't good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28050072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProsperDemeter/pseuds/ProsperDemeter
Summary: The Kaplans invited the Altmans over for Christmas Eve dinner.
Relationships: Teddy Altman/Billy Kaplan
Series: 20 Days of Holiday Fics [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035498
Comments: 7
Kudos: 37





	Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shaderose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaderose/gifts).



> 13 :)

Teddy was nervous. 

There were plenty of reasons why Teddy would be nervous, he  _ was _ a generally nervous person most of the time, he had the habit of sometimes sneezing and turning green, he was a secret superhero, and, most importantly, the Kaplan’s had invited the Altman’s over for Christmas Eve dinner. Apparently, it was something that Teddy couldn’t  _ actually _ say no to, Rebecca Kaplan had said the invitation as more of an order than an offer and she had,  _ apparently _ , asked  _ his _ mother herself when they ran into each other at the grocery store. In what world Rebecca Kaplan and Sarah Altman went to the same grocery store was beyond him but, well, there they were. 

The  _ only _ consolation was that Teddy wasn’t the only one that didn’t want to participate. Billy seemed more stressed about it than he was which, objectively, should have been worrying. Because Teddy turned green when he sneezed but when Billy was high emotion? Well the universe tended to be in danger. “Theodore, if you don’t hurry up I’m going by myself.” His mother said from outside of his closed bedroom door, demanding but kind as Sarah always tended to be. 

Teddy threw open his door with a flush to his cheeks. “Sorry, sorry.” He sucked in a deep breath and held his arms out by his sides for examination. “How do I look?” 

Sarah’s finger poked against the dimple in her chin as her eyes roamed his figure up and down. He was wearing new light wash jeans, a warm, red, flannel shirt rolled up to his elbows, the bracelet Cassie had made him for his birthday, and a Christmas Hulk shirt tucked in. “Like a hundred bucks.” 

Teddy groaned with an unintentional smile. “ _ Mom _ .” 

She stood on her tip-toes to peck his cheek gently. “A hunk of a nerd.” 

“ _ Mom _ ,” scanalized, his cheeks lit up red. “Let’s just go.” 

Sarah laughed, her bright and happy laugh, and gratefully accepted the jacket he handed to her. “You think this is embarrassing,” She teased. “Just wait until Rebecca and I get going with you two.” 

“Please don’t.” 

It wasn’t that Teddy had never met Billy’s family before - he had spent a good deal of time at the Kaplan household and Billy had even met Sarah a few months before - but Rebecca and Sarah being friends was something neither of them had planned for. Teddy didn’t really think that it was a  _ problem _ but Sarah liked to tease and Rebecca liked to tease and, well, if they were put together they would, inevitably,  _ tease _ . He knew Sarah never crossed a line, if Teddy was getting noticeably uncomfortable she would stop and apologize, and he was sure Rebecca would do the same. But Billy had younger brothers and  _ they _ wouldn’t stop unless absolutely forced to. 

They took the subway there, Sarah in her fancy black dress and Teddy in his, less fancy, clothes. His mother had a gift bag of wine under her arm, and Teddy had his own gifts - two for Billy and one for each of his brothers - stuffed into his backpack. Billy had insisted that nothing was needed, but Sarah refused to show up as a guest at anyone’s house without bringing something with her.  _ Teddy _ had insisted that the Kaplans didn’t need to do anything revolving around Christmas as they didn’t celebrate it but, well, he shouldn’t have been shocked to see the small, terribly decorated, Christmas tree set up in their living room beside their menorah. 

“It’s so good to see you!” Rebecca had answered the door and with it came the delicious smell of just out of the oven biscuits. She hugged them both, Teddy first and then Sarah, and Jeff appeared from the hallway to take their coats. 

“Thank you again for having us, Rebecca.” He shouldn’t have been so annoyed that his mother got along with Billy’s parents, Sarah didn’t have many friends that weren’t from work, and Billy’s parents were nice people. But, annoyed he was. Teddy chalked it up to being a teenager. Sarah elbowed him in the side until he greeted them in kind himself. 

“Thank you, Mister and Missus Kaplan.” He cleared his throat before speaking. 

“Bill’s in his room,” Jeff muttered to him out of the corner of his mouth and Teddy’s shoulders dropped in relief. Jeff was cool, a nice, relaxed,  _ cool _ . For all that Rebecca was a mental health professional, Jeff seemed to understand the way teenagers worked better than she ever could. “You know the rules.” 

“Door open.” 

Jeff winked and Teddy only flushed a little bit before rapping his knuckles gently on Billy’s door. He had a poster of the Avengers on there, signed by Captain America and Iron Man. Teddy had been there when he had gotten it at a convention. It had cost a pretty penny and was, most likely, fake, but Teddy had never seen Billy so excited. “Come in.” Teddy turned the doorknob and smiled. 

Billy, it seemed, had refused to dress up just as much as Teddy had. He wasn’t even wearing shoes but, instead, mismatched socks with dinosaurs on the ankles. He looked handsome. Then again, to Teddy, he always looked handsome. “Hey there.” He leaned a hip on Billy’s doorway and smiled the wide grinned smile Billy always pulled out of him when he looked up from where he was laying on his bed. 

Billy’s answering grin had his brown eyes sparkling. His chestnut mop was very barely styled but still looked perfect, and his long sleeved green shirt looked almost perfect on his body. He sat up smoothly and Teddy met him halfway. “Merry Christmas Eve, Ted.” He only kissed him once he had sat up, chin tilted upwards and lips soft but slightly chapped. Billy was warm - he was  _ always  _ warm - against the chill that had still settled into Teddy from the ride over. 

“How weird is this to you?” BIlly asked once Teddy had settled down beside him, his boots kicked off into the corner of Billy’s room and their knees brushing against each other on his bed. 

“Pretty weird.” Teddy agreed. 

“Mom insisted on buying a tree.” Billy’s nose wrinkled. “I think dad’s allergic to it.” 

Teddy coughed a laugh into his shoulder. “We didn’t need a tree.” 

Billy’s hand waved away the statement carelessly. “I think mom secretly loves Christmas decorations. And she’ll do whatever she wants to do even if the rest of us think it’s weird.” 

That was familiar. Teddy didn’t need to say it for Billy to understand what his look was telling him. “I brought presents.” 

His boyfriend’s face eased and Billy’s lips were warm against the blush that had settled over Teddy’s cheeks. His nose brushed against the side of his own and Teddy  _ loved _ having him close, even if the door  _ had _ to be open. His hand caressed, big and gently, on the jut of his hip bone over his jeans and they took a moment to simply breathe each other in. “Yours are under the tree.” 

“Do I put yours under the menorah?” Teddy teased just to hear Billy laugh in his ear. 

“No, the terrors will take it as permission to set them on fire.” 

“I brought them something too.” 

Billy pulled away, slightly, a crease between his eyebrows. “You didn’t have to get them anything.” 

Teddy shrugged. “They’re kids. I’ll be their big, green Santa.” 

Billy laughed again. “Don’t.” He perked up, then. “Oh! Do you want to see that comic?”  _ That comic. _ Teddy instantly remembered the message he had gotten about it just a few days before. Rebecca and Jeff had gotten Billy a super rare print of the Avengers fifth ever printed team up for the final day of Hanukkah and his boyfriend had been understandably excited about it. 

“Heck yes!” 

\--

Dinner, for the families, was delicious, and Rebecca had made the closest to a traditional holiday dinner that she could. It was way too much to feed the group of them, but Sarah was looking forward to leftovers throughout the week. And she knew Teddy could have eaten more, and would have if there weren’t people he was trying to make a good impression on present. She had observed her son throughout the entire evening, he had been almost glued to his boyfriend’s side - light where Billy Kaplan was dark - and he had looked happy and comfortable in the Kaplan home. 

Sarah thought that, perhaps, it was somewhere he belonged. In their Upper Manhattan six bedroom apartment building. She had been the one to fetch them for dinner and Sarah couldn’t find a part of her that felt bad that she had taken a moment to watch the way Billy and Teddy interacted without parent supervision. Teddy, ever the gentleman, had left the door open, but the two of them hadn’t been up to anything that television told her teenagers got up to when left alone. They were, instead, pouring over a comic book, excitedly rambling without shame. In fact, the only thing that could have clued Sarah into the fact that they were dating was the way that they sat - Billy against Teddy’s chest with the book open in front of both of them. 

They looked perfect together. 

Sarah knew that high school, teenage relationships so rarely lasted but she thought that, perhaps, she could see them in ten years still going strong. Billy had called her Missus Altman regardless of if she told him to call her Sarah, and Teddy did the same to Jeff and Rebecca. He was good, even, with the two younger Kaplan boys. He asked them about school, sports and friends, let them win a few times in the Mario Kart championship they had set up in the living room, and thanked the Kaplans profusely for inviting them over. 

He fit there, like Sarah had never seen him fit anywhere before. 

“For you,” It was Rebecca that startled her from her observations, a glass of red wine passing from her hand to Sarah’s as she sat down beside her. They didn’t say anything for a long time, both women simply content to watch. “They don’t act like teenagers in a relationship, right?” 

“You noticed that too?” Sarah chucked - the wine tasted good, much better than anything Sarah ever bought for herself. 

“It’s a very mature relationship for two kids as young as they are.” 

“A lot of mutual respect.” Sarah agreed. She had noticed it herself. Teddy spoke of Billy with a fondness he so rarely expressed, and Billy picked up on nuances of Teddy’s personality that had taken even Sarah years to figure out. “Is it bad I’m rooting for them?” 

Rebecca tossed her head back in laughter. “Oh god, if it is then I’m in trouble too.” 

“By the way,” Sarah touched Rebecca’s arm with a gentle brush of her fingers. “I wanted to thank you. For doing all of this.” She gestured at the Christmas tree. “I know it’s not something you guys celebrate and… I appreciate it.” 

“It wasn’t my idea.” Rebecca giggled. “It was  _ his _ .” She pointed her glass at her oldest son, who was mid-laugh at something his father had said. He had the same laugh as his mother, unashamed and with little snorts. It was hard, looking at the five Kaplans, to think that Billy wasn’t related to any of them by blood. There were differences, but he had learned their quirks and adapted them for himself. “He insisted on it. Said you two hadn’t had a chance to get a tree yet this year and that Teddy had told him how much you loved having one.” 

Sarah thought she could melt at the words and the implication behind them. “You raised a good one, Becca.” 

“Oh you too.” Rebecca pointed at Teddy, showing the youngest boy how to use the controller. “He brought the kids seven presents.” 

The two women rested against each other in the glow of the Christmas tree and watched their boys interact with each other. “Happy Hanukkah, Becca.” 

“Merry Christmas, Sarah.” 


End file.
